Package for displaying and dispensing merchandise



Q Jan. E2, 1932. J. c' EWELL 1,840,439

PACKAGE FOR DISPLAYING AND DISPENSING MERCHANDISE Filed Feb. 3, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. C. EWELL Jam. 12, 1932.

PACKAGE FOR DISPLAYING AND DISPENSING MERCHANDISE Filed Feb. 3. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ;..l K I Z Fatented .Fan. 12, 1932 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES CADY EWELL, OF RAVINIA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WILSON-WESTERN SPORE- ING GOODS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE PACKAGE FOR DISPLAYING AND DISPENSING MERCHANDISE Application filed February 3, 1930. Serial No. 425,416.

The present invention relates to packages for displaying and dispensing merchandise, and is particularly concerned with packages for golf balls or the like.

It is highly desirable that merchandise such as golf balls, be attractively and prominently displayed for the purpose of bringing the balls to the attention of the purchasing public and promoting sales, and .for this purpose a package which is arranged to stand upright is best adapted to produce the desired result. Balls are not, however, readily susceptible of being held in such an upright position when exposed for display, because the balls would tend to roll out of an ordinary box, and it is evident that some particular arrangement must be made to keep the balls in place and display them to the best advantage in upright position.-

It is also desirable that the balls be readil-y available for sale in units of a size best adapted to promote sales, and the goods should also be packaged in such manner as to keep the balls in a clean condition, and to discourage handling or decrease the possibility of petty theft.

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of an im roved package for merchandise such as 01 balls, by means of which the balls may e displayed with the package in upright position, and the balls miiy be readily available for removal and sa e.

Another object is the provision of an improved dispensing package for golf balls 'or the like, which is provided with means for holding the package in upright position, and common means-for closing the package and securing the stand in folded position for shipping.

Another object is the provision of an improved package for golf balls, in which the balls are exposed to view, although enclosed in individual packages of transparent material, and from which the individual packages.

may be readily removed one by one, by moving a suitable closure and operating an ejecting device for the packages.

Another object is the provision of an improved indivldual package for golf balls which is capable of promoting sales and maintaining the balls in clean and salable condition.

Another object is the provision of an improved golf ball package, which is equally adaptable to the display of balls for sale, and to the packing of balls for shipment without the necessity for much time or labor in putting the shipment in condition for display when it is received.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and-from the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring the drawings, of which there are twosheets;

Fig. 1 is a viewv in perspective of the display package in upright position, with the discharge opening exposed for the removal of a ball unit;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view with the parts arranged in closed and folded position for shipment;

Fig. 3 is a medial, sectional view, taken on the vertical plane of Fig. 1, with the stand folded, showing the parts in an intermediate position;

Fig. 4 isa horizontal, sectional view taken on the plane of the line H of Fig. 2;

Fi 5 is a view in perspective of one of-the golf all package units.

In order to promote sales, the balls 10 are preferably packaged in units'll including a plurality of balls, so that customers ma be induced to buy more balls than one, an theunit chosen for illustration of the present embodiment of the invention, includes three golf balls. The unitpackage 11 may consist of a small cardboard tray 12 of sufiicient size to receive a plurality of balls 10 side by side, and the tray 12 may be provided with separate compartments for each ball except the end balls, by inserting a piece of cardboard 13 having a pair of upwardly bent flaps 14 forming partitions between the respective balls.

The balls 10 are retained in the tray 12, yet exposed for view by means of a sheet 15 of transparent flexible material such as cellophane, which is stretched tightly over the tops of the balls, down underneath the tray 12, folded at each end of the tray and secured by means of one or more appropriate seals adhering to and securing the folds at '19 which are adapted to be received within the side Walls 20 of the cover 21.

In the present display package, provision is also made for the convenient removal of the unit packages 11 through a discharge opening 22, and consequently the bottom 18 and cover 21 forming the display package may be permanently secured in closed position by means of the ornamental cover paper 23 which extends about the outside of the package and the rear corner on to the back 18 of the package.

In order to provide for the convenient display of the unit packages 11, the top or front 21 is provided with an elongated window opening 24 through which a large number of the unit packages 11 may be seen, but sufficient of the top or front 21 is left, such as the inwardly projecting flanges 25 and 26, to form guides forretaining the unit packages of balls slidably within the display package 16. The display package is preferably long enough to receive a multiplicity of the separate trays 12 containing the golf balls, and the window opening 24 not'only serves to permitrprospective purchasers to View the balls, but also indicates at a glance the amount of stock on hand.

The discharge opening 22 may be formed by'cut-ting away a lower part of the front wall 21,.and the discharge opening 22 is preferably disposed slightly above the end 27 of the box, so that the ejector tab 28 will be spaced from the table or other support and located in a position in which the tab can be readily grasped.

The ejector tab 28 may consist of a piece of flexible paper having an attaching portion 29 which preferably extends well above the lowest unit package 11, and is attached to the rear wall 18 with adhesive or other appropriate securing means. The strip of paper 29 may be as wide as the box 16, and it extends down behind the unit packages 11 and out below the lowest unit package 11, where parts of the paper may be cut away to form the tab 28. Since the discharge opening 22 is located above the end 27 of the box, the

space in the box below the lowest unit package is filled with a filler of spacers such as several pieces 30 of corrugated cardboard.

In order to facilitate the grasp of each package of balls adjacent the discharge opening 22, each of the side walls 19, 20 are cut away as at 31, forming thumb and finger openings adjacent the ends of the lowest unit package 11.

The box 16 is preferably provided with a stand for holding it in erect position, and the stand 17 may consist of an elongated strip of cardboard formed with a plurality of folds and attached to the back of the box 16 in the following manner.

The stand 17 may have an upper attaching flange 32 of cardboard, which is secured to the back 18 of the box 16 adjacent the to or at least sufficiently high so that the stan will hold the package in upright position. Thecardboard strip forming the stand 17 is bent downward at 33 upon itself, forming a supporting member 34 which is adapted to act as a strut in holding the box in upright position, as' illustrated in Fig. 1. At the point 35, the cardboard strip is again bent upward and folded inward upon itself, extending to the point 36 where the strip is folded down ward upon itself, forming a pair of folding members 37 and the strip is again folded upward. at 38 to form a lower attaching flange 39 which is secured to the back 1810f boX 16 by adhesive or other securing means.

The folding members 37 are adapted to be extended as shown in Fi 1 to hold the supporting member 34 in definite and fixed position, and the supporting member 34 is preferably provided with lateral flanges 40 which may be folded inward as shown in Fig. 1 to reinforce the supporting member 34 and to hold the stand in extended position. For this purpose the cardboard strip is provided with lateral slits 42 at the point 35 and at the point 33, and the edges of the flanges 40 at the top may be wedged 'into engagement with the back of the box to hold the stand 17 in the position of Fig. 1.

The box 16 is also preferably provided with a sliding closure 43 which may consist of a small cardboard member of substantially box shape with open ends; that is, the slider 43 comprises a cardboard strip bent to rectangular form with its ends secured together to form a closed loop of a size and shape complementary to the shape of the box 16, so that the slider may be slid downward from the position of Fig. 1 to the position of Fig. 2, in which position it closes the discharge opening 22. p

In the present construction, the slider 43 is also preferably adapted to hold the stand 17 in folded position, and for this purpose the 'slider 43 is made slightly deeper than the depth of the box so that when it is slid downward from the position of Fig. 3, the folds 37 of the stand 17 may be embraced by the sliding closure 48 as shown in Fig. 2. It will thus be observed that the sliding closure 43 is not only adapted to close the discharge opening, but it is adapted to hold the stand in folded position for shipment, and the close frictional engagement of the slider 43 with the folds 37 causes the closure to be engaged tightly upon the box in the closed position when the parts are arranged for shipment, but when the slider is used with the box in the display position of Fig. 1, it slides quite freely upon the box 16. I

The operation of the display package in displaying balls will be evident from Fig. 1.-

Although the balls are enclosed in unit packages of three balls each, for example, the balls are readily visible through the transparent cellophane, which also holds the balls in the unit package and prevents them from falling out of the window opening 24 of the box 16. When such a package is received, it may be easily arranged for display by merely sliding the closure 43 upward, extending the stand 17 and securing the stand in extended position by folding the flanges 4O inward against the back of the box.

width to cover said slot, and forming a boxlike member with open ends adapted to slide on said package to cover said slot, and a foldable stand comprising a strip of relatively stiff material having its ends secured to said package and formed with a foldable port-ion ,intermediate its ends, whereby said stand may be folded against said package, said foldable portion being secured between said package and said slidable closure.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 27th day of January, 1930.

, JAMES CADY EWELL.

Whenever it is desired to remove a unit package from the box, the salesman may pull upon the tab 28 which will pull the lowest unit package 11 out of the discharge opening 22, and if necessary he may grasp the ball package with the thumb and fingers inserted in the openings 31 of the side Walls of the box.

As one ball package is removed, the other ball packages automatically slide down in the box, another ball package reaching the discharge position, and the box 16 acts as a framework or guide for slidably supporting a plurality of the unit ball packages in proper position to be fed to the discharge opening.

It will thus be observed that the present' package is equally adaptable to the display .of the goods and to their shipment, and the package may be arranged for display with a minimumof effort. The attractive display of the balls promotes the volume of sales and the balls aremaintained in clean and salable condition .for long periods of-time.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes Within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

In a display package for balls, the com bination of an elongated box havi'ng rectangular-walls, said box having a discharge slot located adjacent the lower end at the front side, a sliding closure for said slot comprising an endlessjband of material of suflicient 

